A Ruff Turn of Events
by la-hija-de-Dios
Summary: Jon is having a horrible day! It started out fine, but took a nosedive when the old lady whacked him with her umbrella. Now this? At least he's got a loyal friend to help him through these tough times. He's pawsitive he can get through this, right?
1. Chapter 1

_Hey, there! This is the first chapter in this story. :) I plan to finish it up tonight! :D I wrote it as part of a CHiPs story challenge, but the premise is fully mine. it just had to have a dog as a main character. I hope you guys enjoy this!_

 _The characters in from CHiPs do not belong to me._ Soli Deo gloria! :3

* * *

Had Jon known the events that would occur that day, he might have chosen to remain in bed. However, since he lacked such mental telepathy, he turned off the alarm on his clock and began to get ready for work. One shower and a change of clothes later, Jon sat at his counter and scarfed down his breakfast of bacon and eggs. After he slipped on his shoes and tied their laces, he deemed himself fit to depart. He grabbed his wallet and keys and exited, never dreaming that he would not return to his apartment for some time.

~*-._.-*~

Ponch raised an eyebrow and attempted to stifle his giggles. He and Jon had pulled over an elderly woman whose speed had been over the limit by at least 10 miles per hour. The scene before him was quite entertaining.

The woman faced Jon. The gnarled finger which she thrust at him seemed to convey only a small amount of the frustration she felt. "Do you realize what you've done?!" she screeched. "I'm going to be late now thanks to you bumbling idiots!" Her gravelly voice cracked at the last word.

Ponch could only imagine the old crone jerking a long, bony finger in his face and croaking, "I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too!"

Jon attempted to placate the woman. "It'll be okay, ma'am." He muttered, "What's got her all riled up?" under his breath. The movement of her umbrella somehow eluded him.

Hearing his partner cry out involuntarily as the object came crashing down on the blond's head snapped Ponch out of his thoughts. "Hey!" He seized her makeshift weapon and held it out of her reach. "We'll have to add assault of a police officer to your offenses." He turned to Jon. "You okay there, buddy?"

Jon rubbed his head and tried to hide his wincing. "Yeah," he responded, "she just caught me off guard."

Ponch almost chocked when he heard her mumble darkly, "You'll pay for this. . . Mark my words . . ." She snatched the ticket handed her and stalked off to her Ford Cortina. With a mutinous glare, she started the car's engine and drove away from them.

"Sheesh! She was crabby," Ponch huffed.

Jon laughed softly. He mounted his motorcycle, endeavoring to ignore the pain in his head. Shrugging away the feeling that something was not quite right, Jon asked his partner if he was ready to leave.

Ponch nodded enthusiastically in a way that made Jon's head hurt worse just thinking about it. "You bet!" he exclaimed.

The two set off for CHP Headquarters. The arrived just as Sergeant Getraer stepped up to the podium to commence briefing. He nodded at them. "Glad you could make it, boys. Oh, and Frank?" Ponch looked up at him. "See me after briefing. I have a question for you." Noting the worried look on Ponch's face, he amended his statement. "You're not in trouble."

Ponch looked relieved. As the two made their way to their seats, he whispered, "Thought I was a goner for a second there!"

"Me, too, partner," Jon chuckled quietly. Smirking, he tastefully feigned ignorance of Ponch's look of mock hurt. They sat down in the chairs. Throughout the meeting, Jon had a surprisingly hard time paying attention to the sergeant. He also seemed to be growing sleepier as the meeting went on. He barely registered the dismissal from Getraer. A pat on his back broke the trance. He snapped his gaze up to the person touching him.

Ponch beamed. "I'll be right back. Just let me check and see what Getraer needs."

Jon nodded his assent and watched Ponch go. He soon lay his heavy head on his hands, assuring himself that he had a few minutes to rest. His eyelids slowly slid shut.

~*-._.-*~

Ponch laughed, "Me? You're too kind." His dark eyes held a twinkle of mischief.

"I just wanted you to know that you would do a good job at it. Therefore, you'll be the bunny." The higher-ups had wanted to promote the police force and would be throwing an Easter egg hunt in a week. Getraer had insisted that, since every such event needed an Easter bunny, he would find the perfect bunny for them.

Ponch blinked. "Won't it get hot, though?"

Getraer nodded. "Definitely. Just drink lots of water before, during, and after it. We'll let you get away every once in a while and behead yourself so you can breathe. By that, I mean you can take off the hood. Just don't do it around the kids. We don't want to scar any of them by letting them see your face as part of the Easter bunny."

Ponch chuckled and grinned. "Yeah, that would be bad. Don't want to crush the dreams of any little kids. Well, I'd better get back on patrol. Do you have anything else to say or . . .?"

Getraer waved a hand dismissively. "Nope. That's it. Go back to work, slacker."

Ponch flashed him a smile. He hummed as he made his way back to his partner. He was glad the Easter egg hunt would be on a Saturday instead of Easter Sunday. He had been looking forward to going to church. Because of his work schedule, he had been unable to attend the last few Sundays. He planned to go on Wednesday as well. When he reached the chair where he had been seated, he asked, "Ready?" He received no response from Jon. Ponch glanced up. What he beheld confused him.

Jon's seat was empty. His clothes were piled on the seat as though he had vaporized. As if that were not odd enough, a golden retriever sat on the floor by the chair. He lay there, sleeping, his head on his arms.

"Jon?" Ponch called. "Jon, where are you?" He ignored the dog in favor of searching for his friend.

The golden retriever blinked his eyes open. He stood and pranced over to Ponch. His tail began to wag. When Ponch continued to disregard him, he barked once.

Ponch sighed. "Hey, doggy, do you know where Jon is? He was right here a minute ago. . ."

The dog barked again as though he were trying to get his attention. He nuzzled Ponch.

Ponch stared at him. _Don't golden retrievers typically have brown eyes? This one's got blue eyes. Weird. They kind of . . . look like Jon's._ He shook his head as if to dispel that thought. _What are you thinking, Poncherello? Jon can't have been turned into a dog! That's . . . that's not possible!_ He looked at the dog. _But maybe . . ._ He hesitantly opened his mouth. "Jon?"

The dog barked in a way that could only be described as happily.


	2. Chapter 2

_Here you go! I actually finished this on time! Woohoo! Anyway, This idea's just been stuck in my head for a while. If Jon were an animal, he'd be a golden retriever, I think. I hope you guys like it! :D_

 _The characters from CHiPs do not belong to me. I'm just playing with them. :3_ Soli Deo gloria!

* * *

"No! No, no, no, no, no, no! You can't be Jon!" Ponch put his hand up to his head, muttering, _"¡Un perro! ¿Porque es un_ perro?"

The dog—Jon!—barked again and nudged his hand.

"You do realize that Getraer is going to kill me for this, right?" Jon seemed unconcerned about that piece of information. "Never mind that. Getraer won't be able to be around you. You know how allergic he is to dogs." Ponch lifted his head and noticed that the sergeant had already departed for his office. "Good! Well, I get off in an hour. Wait with Harlan in the garage until then, okay?"

~*-._.-*~

Harlan looked at the dog in the corner of his garage. Jon had been moping about since Ponch left. His tail drooped. The golden retriever was obviously in need of a distraction. "Well, we can't have you bored out of your skull, can we?" He tossed Jon the stick Ponch had given him. "Chew on that for a little while."

Jon gratefully received it. He gently hit it with his paw a few times. Finding that to be enjoyable, he barked and continued with his little game. His golden fur shifted with every movement he made.

Bonnie strolled inside the building. "Hey, Harlan?"

The mechanic glanced in the corner where Jon was playing with his stick to ensure that he could not be seen from her vantage point. "Hi! What's up?"

"My siren's been going crazy every once in a while. It turns off when it's supposed to be on. I guess the problem doesn't seem big now, but I figure it'll probably only get worse with time."

Harlan nodded. "Let me take a look at it." He stood, which garnered Jon's attention. The golden retriever stood as well and went to his side. "No," Harlan whispered. "Stay there."

Jon's face fell. It rose again when he heard Bonnie exclaim, "Harlan, who is this?" His eyes closed, and his tongue fell out of his mouth as she petted him.

"I . . . uh, am holding him for Ponch."

Ponch walked in. "What about me?"

"Ponch!" The mechanic was relieved. "Here, take your pet!" He cast Ponch a look that said to not argue with him.

Ponch agreed. ". . . Okay."

"This is your dog, Ponch? What's his name?'

Ponch hesitated . . . "Uh, I haven't decided yet. I was thinking of Buddy." When Jon barked happily, he nodded. "Buddy it is." He looked at his watch and made an inane excuse to leave. As he opened the door to his car, he said, "We've got to figure out a way to get you back, Jon."

The dog seemed to agree. His panting sounded suspiciously like sighing.

~*-._.-*~

It was the Friday before the Easter egg hunt, yet Ponch had not figured out one way to return Jon to normal. In all the stories Ponch had read, there had only be one with anyone turning into an animal. In that one, the main character, a brunette-turned poodle, had regained her normal form after a week. Ponch knew the story was fictitious, but he had thought this whole scenario was, too. He sighed. "Well, Jon, I guess we'll have to just wait his one out."

Jon seemed to heave a sigh and rested his head on Ponch's leg. The two sat on the couch, watching a Batman rerun from a decade earlier. Both typically enjoyed such a time. However, their worries weighed on them heavily. Ponch covered for Jon all week, telling Getraer that Jon had experienced a certain issue requiring his immediate attention and should be back soon.

He settled back into the couch. He would just have to leave this to God. "Lord, please help Jon get back to normal. In Jesus' name, amen." A thought struck him them. _Well, at least Jon is house-trained._ Ponch had been worried about having that problem on the first night. He shifted, almost waking the slumbering dog by him. "Well, tomorrow ought to be interesting. I wonder how he'll react to the Easter eggs. . ."

~^-._.-^~

Getraer had been fully against his bringing a dog to the Easter egg hunt. He had vehemently refused to let the Puerto Rican allow "his pet" to roam free. Despite this, Jon had bounded away from Bonnie, his temporary keeper, to explore. All these sights and smells captivated his attention. Why were these kids here again? They seemed to be picking up little plastic things from the ground. One little boy came up to him and held one of those brightly-colored things out to him. Not entirely certain as to what he should do, Jon cautiously grabbed it in his mouth.

The kid laughed and ran off. Jon followed him, romping through the grass. He halted at the sight of the ginormous white rabbit handing out candy to kids around him. Ignoring the teenager trying to pet him, he bolted for the bunny. His dog instincts were in control.

The rabbit crouched down. "Jon," it said. Its fuzzy paw seemed to beckon him to come closer.

Jon cocked his head, confused. Why was Ponch's voice coming out of the bunny? Had the rabbit swallowed his friend? He bared his teeth. He would avenge his friend!

The rabbit hopped away and began to run. It hid behind a truck and took off its head. "Jon, it's me. Look!" Underneath the bunny head was, indeed, Ponch.

Jon hesitated only a second before running up to him and licking him. Whatever Ponch had been doing in that bunny pelt was beyond him. The important thing was that Ponch was okay.

"Thanks, Buddy." Ponch stroked Jon's fur.

~^-._.-^~

When Ponch woke up on Sunday morning, he noticed that Jon had left his spot at the foot on the bed. He rose and dressed for church. Coming into the living room, he called out, "Jon?" He noticed the red blanket on the couch and the lump underneath it. "Jon, you ready for breakfast?" he turned to the kitchen and began cooking.

A moan came from the lump. A blond head stuck out of the blanket. "Yeah, Ponch."

Ponch froze and spun around. "Did you just speak?!"

Jon raised an eyebrow. ". . . Yes?" His eyes widened. "You can understand me?" He looked at his human hands, his expression one of joy. Ponch ran over and hugged him. "But can you get me a change of clothes really quickly?"

Ponch coughed awkwardly. "Yep. I've got you, Jon." He ran back to his room. A few minutes later, he handed Jon a bundle of clothes. "I'll just be here, making breakfast, okay?"

Jon nodded. "Thanks." He made sure the blanket was wrapped around him securely and stood. Suddenly, his head began to hurt. He took one step and began to He hit the floor with a thud. Everything slowly faded into darkness.

~^-._.-^~

Jon awoke to the sound of beeping. He cracked open his eyes and saw Ponch sleeping in a chair near his bed. Based on the strong smell of antiseptic and the white décor, Jon was in a hospital. _Wait, what? What happened?_

Ponch stirred at Jon's sneeze. His eyes widened. "Jon?! You're awake?"

". . . Yeah. How long have I been out?"

Ponch grimaced. "A week. The lady who hit you with the umbrella gave you a concussion. You fell into a coma in the briefing room. I took you to the emergency room when I saw you passed out on the floor. You feeling okay?"

"What? What about being a dog?"

Ponch raised an eyebrow. "A what?"

"A dog. Don't you remember?"

Ponch clapped his hand on Jon's shoulder. "You can tell me about it after you rest. You've been through a lot."

"Okay." Jon settled back into his bed. He sure had a lot to tell Ponch later.


End file.
